My husband and I stayed at Goldeneye (Domino and Tiffany Case) for a week in May 2006. We ended up walking away with mixed feelings. I think others have covered the positives really well. Like so many others, we absolutely loved the beautiful surroundings, friendly bar/waitstaff (Delroy and Nick were awesome,) uniqueness, and, of course, Ramsey, who even made me a coconut carving as a keepsake of the trip! But, there were also some negatives that I would like to share. . . .

I want to preface this observation by saying that we loved the staff and found them to be very friendly while still remaining professional. But, we did notice after a couple of days that they just came into our villa whenever they needed to do something there, without announcing themselves until they were already inside the gates. (The grounds maintanance staff didn't announce themselves at all!) Needless to say that this led to some awkward situations and annoyances. Had this been a once-a-day occurance for cleaning service, we wouldn't have minded so much, but this happened four times one day in particular. We started to feel like we had very little privacy. Not the problem you want to have when you're trying to "get away from it all." If you really value your privacy, this may not be the resort for you.

We also found to be the front office staff (except for Gerry, who was ace) to be incredibly incompetent. Ironically, we thought Jenny (I think that was her name), the General Manager, was the most incompetent of all. I won't bore you with all of the details, but the last 48 hours of our stay seemed to be one front office screw up after another. (This is including one "memory lapse" that forced a driver to drive the three hours from Montego Bay to Oracabessa to take us to the airport when they themselves OFFERED to cancel it on our behalf. Not by any means a small mistake, especially for the poor driver who went six hours for absolutely nothing.) Dealing with this stuff wasn't the most relaxing thing in the world. At a small-time place, these would've just been inconveniences. But, for a place that charges as much and thinks as much of itself as Goldeneye, we really expected more.

The food, while good, was very boring after a few days.

On the merit of the grounds and hospitality staff alone, we probably would've planned on returning anyway at some point. But, while we were there we found out that they are adding 60-80 properties (for ownership), two more restaurants and bars, and a spa starting in December 2006. We were told these things like they're selling points. But, we just thought it was kind of sad that they're turning the place into a mini-Sandals.

Overall, while we enjoyed it, we don't plan on returning and are not even sure we'd recommend it (especially after December 2006!)

My husband and I stayed at Goldeneye for our honeymoon. Words can't describe our stay. Our transportation got there later than expected (when we booked through a travel agent we didn't know that Goldeneye would provide transportation to and from the airport for the same price we paid to be squashed on a small bus with tons of other people who were being dropped off at various locations along the way). So we arrived later than expected but Dale, the manager, had stayed and waited for our arrival. It was dark so we weren't able to get a tour of the place until the next day, but he showed us to our room. We booked the one bedroom but stayed in the two bedroom villa instead (at the one-bedroom price of course). Unlike the post below, this did not bother us at all. It was bigger in every way and we enjoyed having more space. We did tour all the villas and were pleased at staying in the two-bedroom. This is what I would call a "rustic" five-star resort, but I think you can pick that up by looking at the pictures of the villas. They held dinner for us and it was fantastic. The next morning we really got to see the place. Like I said words can't describe. We were taken on a tour so we could see where everything is at. The place is huge! There's 5 villas on several acres. It's secluded and away from everything. Our first day, we were also given a tour of the Flemming house. Alonzo Morning (of Miami Heat) just left so they were cleaning it up for the next guests (some big-wig from Colombia Records) who were to come. After our tour, Dale said we could spend the day lounging on the Flemming property. It has it's own private beach and pool. The meals were fantastic! Now, for the majority of the time we were the only people there so we basically had the whole resort to ourselves. Breakfast consisted of fresh fruit, fresh squeezed orange juice, ceral and then whatever we wanted. For lunch a whole array of Jamaica cuisine was set out before us, and for dinner, it started with soup (incredible, especially the squash and pumpkin), bread and then your choice between two entrees or you could have a combo of both. The bar and bartenders were great. Whatever you wanted they fixed and fixed to perfection. The service was perfect. They were there but not there and your every need was taken care of. The housekeepers come and cleaned twice a day with a evening turn down while you were at dinner. At night, candles are lit everywhere (literally) to create a romantic atmosphere. We wanted to go swimming with dolphins one day which was an incredible experience. They took care of it all including transportaion plus arranging that we would go on a day that a cruise wasn't docking so it wouldn't be as crowded. We went on a glass bottom boat tour, kayacking and went jet skiing with their guides. That was awesome! The best part was skiing by one of the sandles/beaches resorts where the beach was smaller than ours and crammed full of people. We just had to laugh b/c we had this huge beautful beach to ourselves. We mostly just relaxed and baked in the sun on the gorgeous white beach. We played some tennis, watched some movies, and took walks through the acrage. It was fun to see trees that had been planted for past guests (Johnny Depp, Gwenyth Paltrow, Kate Moss, Harrison Ford, Jim Carrey, just to name a few.) We honestly couldn't have had a more perfect honeymoon and are so glad we stayed here. The absolute only downside was that have random chickens and roosters walking around and they crow early in the mornings which was sometimes really annoying but usually we just rolled over and went back to sleep. We were planning on going back this summer, but unfortunately they are starting on an expansion project that really saddens us. I don't know if we will ever go back after that is done b/c it just won't be the same secluded place that it was for our honeymoon. That's what made it so special. You should still check it out though. We honestly couldn't have had a better honeymoon in any way, shape or form.

We have stayed at the Caves several times, which we absolutely adore...last year we decided to do a 5 night stay at Goldeneye. It was equally fabulous in that bohemian-luxe kind of way. Different than the Caves...but similar....more beach and lusher vegetation, same great service. We stayed in the one bedroom villa ("Honeychile"). Great thing about this one is it is closest to the Fleming Villa, and there is a wooden gate-door off the patio that leads to the steps down to the private Fleming villa beach, which is great. Interestingly enough, there are similar caves-type rock formations down there, but also a nice little beach....It was more like the Caves than I expected, as the villas still sit up high above the water line at the edge of the cliffs. There were times during our stay when the Fleming Villa was unoccupied, so we could just hang out there and use the pool, wander in the house etc. Also--they said technically we weren't supposed to use that beach if people were staying there, but it wasn't a problem (since they never used the beach). They have a great stereo system in that place that pipes music down to the beach, etc...and the pool is great as well.

Our villa had a great setup, with two structures, connected by a sort of covered breezeway. The front room housed the kitchen and living room, along with a covered porch and great patio area....then there is a breezeway area between the two structures, with a little bamboo bathroom with shower, and then the bedroom nestles under the giant banyan tree (with the famed banyan tree shower of course). It was a great setup....the 2 and 3 bedroom villas are fantastic as well, as we checked them out. The media rooms can also easily double as bedrooms.

Food was on a par with the Caves, which means excellent.....great variety with the meals. More variety in that, for example, at lunch, they sometimes put out several items in a buffet style...but it's not a buffet in the derogative sense, as there are only a few other guests at any one time.... The only thing I missed was the Caves' garlicky salad dressing. I liked the main beach as well....where you can either (a) take the glass bottom boat over to the island or (b) swim cross the canal.

As for other guests, we didn't do much socializing...we also didn't do much as far as activities are concerned. We thought we would, but once you get there, the days just seem to melt away...in a good way.

Our stay was extended by one day (comp of course) courtesy of Hurricane Dennis. This was interesting...we were enjoying our breakfast...obvlivious...and the manager sat down and casually let us know about the approaching hurricane and said he would keep us posted. Then, after lunch, as we were in the Fleming pool, they came by to say that the airport would be shutting down the following day and they had rebooked our flights. We would stay another day..they thought about moving us to either to Villa 3 or Fleming, but we were convinced ours would be fine. These are solid solid structures, and sit way above the water line. That night, at dinner, we watched the lightning swirl out over the water...and the humidity ratcheted up several levels. We went to bed, only to be awakened around 3 or 4 am by the furies of the storm. I enjoyed peering out the slatted shutters of the lving room to watch it blow in, and eventually went back to bed (as the banging and howling continued unabated. The amazing part of this was the continuing uninterrupted service of the staff. I mean, who else experiences a hurricane while having 3 course meals delivered throughout the day by staff in foul weather gear? They even had the maids coming in to do some mop up, change sheets etc., during those momentary lulls when the storm bands would lessen temporarily. As the day progressed to evening, the staff continued to come by with food, buckets of red stripe, wine etc....all in all, a memorable experience.

We are going back in June...this time bringing our two boys and staying in the Fleming house. This is the last chance to experience Goldeneye in its current state, as, after June, they are going to be under construction....adding a bunch of new villas, units, etc. Perhaps 80 in all is what I have heard. That will be quite a change...

My wife and I had a 5 night stay at Goldeneye after Dennis, and during Emily.
The resort is like living in the Garden of Eden. Unbelievable tropical growth and ultimate privacy throughout. Our two bedroom villa actually consisted of three buildings, a thatched roof hammock shelter, and our own private cliffside lounging and sunning area.
It took us about a day to slow down to the rythm of Jamaica and the resort, but it was the most relaxing vacation we have ever taken.
The food was fantastic, Jamaican and spicy, but we liked everything that we were served. Lobster, shrimp, beef fillet, fresh fish, pork, lamb, and local fresh fruit and vegetables.
If you are looking for a place with lots of action and nightlife, do not go to Goldeneye.
If you want to unwind, wade out to the coral reef 15 feet from shore, snorkel, kayak, eat great food, drink wonderful drinks(thanks Kilron),
be taken care of like never before, experience the most loving and considerate staff, by all means book now. There are big plans for expansion, so go now before it changes. As someone else said, disregard the cost, and just do it!!

Truly one of the special places that God created on this earth........